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Five simple bicycle maintenance checks to save you pounds

Prevention is better than cure

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Seatpost

A few simple precautions can help save hundreds of pounds in replacement parts and labour costs

Many frames have a slot at the top of the seatpost which can fill with road grime, causing the post to become seized in the frame

Riding through flood water can lead to water ingress through the rim's spoke holes

Headset bearings are inexpensive items and likely to be discarded and replaced when sufficiently worn to create 'play' in the headset. They can be serviced, however

Cup and cone bearing systems are serviceable but regular maintenance is required to prevent damage to the hubshell

A gear cable that splits within a dual control lever can be difficult to remove and can damage the shifting mechanism

Applying a small amount of oil to the spoke nipple can help to prevent corrosion

Seatpost

Regularly remove and clean the seatpost to prevent seizure

The ratio of ‘ease of prevention’ to ‘catastrophe avoidance’ represented by regularly removing your seatpost is hard to top. The calamitous circumstances visited upon the hapless bike owner who finds his seatpost wedged in the frame are unlikely to be resolved only by one of two, highly-expensive methods: paying a professional mechanic to recover the offending item, or writing off the frame. That both of these undesirable outcomes can be avoided by the occasional unfastening of your seat clamp, cleaning, and applying a lubricant to an aluminium post, or grip paste to a carbon one, is reason in itself to be cheerful.

“On many occasions, I’ve had to cut the seatpost off, leaving two-inches sticking from frame, and then cutting a slot in the seatpost with a pad-saw,” says Andy. This, however, is no quick fix, and requires the utmost care. Cut at angle, he continues, and you can easily find yourself sawing through the seatpost and into the frame. “You have to be so careful,” Andy says, “and saw until you hear a slight difference in sound”. The process can take up to two hours, in his experience.

Removing the seatpost regularly takes on still greater importance when the post is carbon. Its structure makes it easier for grit to damage: clamping tiny stones between your carbon post and a metal or carbon tube and then applying pressure means something has to give. Frequently, it is the lacquer on the post, and then the fibre beneath.

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